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Does Better Nutrition Cause Economic Growth? The efficiency cost of hunger revisited

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  • Xiaojun Wang
  • Kiyoshi Taniguchi

    (Agricultural and Development Economics Division, Food and Agriculture Organization)

Abstract

This paper considers the impact of the nutritional status on the growth rate of real GDP per capita. In particular, a panel of 114 countries’ Dietary Energy Supply (DES) per capita from 1961 to 1999 is combined with the latest release of real GDP per capita data from the World Bank (World Development Indicators, 2001). Besides pooled regressions, we also divided at the sample into a 10-year and 5-year interval in order to investigate the medium and short run effects. Moreover, we compared and contrasted across country groups within each of the above time frames to discern cross-sectional performance difference. We found that on average the long run real GDP per capita growth rate can be increased by 0.5 percentage point if DES is increased by 500 kcal/day. However, for a subgroup of developing countries (East and Southeast Asia) we found this number could be four times larger, while in most of the other developing countries this effect is either negative or negligible. The short run effect is more likely to be insignificant or negative than long run effect. We believe this could be due to the dynamic interaction between the short run population growth effect and the long run productivity effect. These results are robust to various econometric modeling procedures as well as to the identity critique. Since this nutrition trap is a short run effect, any policy shall aim to reduce hunger for the long run. This study shows that having chronic hunger in the country is costly in terms of economic growth in the long run.

Suggested Citation

  • Xiaojun Wang & Kiyoshi Taniguchi, 2002. "Does Better Nutrition Cause Economic Growth? The efficiency cost of hunger revisited," Working Papers 02-11, Agricultural and Development Economics Division of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO - ESA).
    • Handle: RePEc:fao:wpaper:0211
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    2. Vallino.Elena, 2013. "Why droughts started to turn into famines in the Late Victorian periods? A complex system approach," Department of Economics and Statistics Cognetti de Martiis. Working Papers 201317, University of Turin.
    3. Nguyen-Anh, Tuan & Hoang-Duc, Chinh & Tiet, Tuyen & Nguyen-Van, Phu & To-The, Nguyen, 2022. "Composite effects of human, natural and social capitals on sustainable food-crop farming in Sub-Saharan Africa," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 113(C).
    4. Matthias Kalkuhl & Mekbib Haile & Lukas Kornher & Marta Kozicka, 2015. "Cost-benefit framework for policy action to navigate food price spikes. FOODSECURE Working Paper No 33," FOODSECURE Working papers 33, LEI Wageningen UR.
    5. Soriano, Bárbara & Garrido, Alberto, 2016. "How important is economic growth for reducing undernourishment in developing countries?," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 63(C), pages 87-101.
    6. Ogundari, Kolawole & Awokuse, Titus, "undated". "Assessing the Contribution of Agricultural Productivity to Food Security levels in Sub-Saharan African countries," 2016 Annual Meeting, July 31-August 2, Boston, Massachusetts 235730, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association.

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    JEL classification:

    • O11 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Macroeconomic Analyses of Economic Development
    • I12 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - Health Behavior
    • O19 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - International Linkages to Development; Role of International Organizations

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